A Trip To The Not So Distant Past - Burgundy 2013 Part 2

In part one I looked at the whites, so I guess we should have a look at the red's. These were much more of a mixed bag, the entry wines had loads of red berry fruit with plenty of fine tannins, these will settle down in a few months and leave you with a very enjoyable glass of wine but not particularly complex.

The mid range again had red berry fruit but much more tannins with hints of spice and smoke coming through, the winemakers of obviously over compensated with lots of oak for the lack of depth from the fruit, again these will take some time to integrate. Some winemakers had done a better job than others so I'd definitely recommend you take care when making your purchases to avoid d

isappointment.

Moving on to the Premier (1er) and Grand cru wines, these showed great depth of flavour, with good use of oak to help add complexity you got some really interesting wines. These however, were not cheap or had been produced in any great quantity, they will also require a couple of years for everything to integrate and the tannins to soften out, which should leave you with some stunning wines, if you can get your hands on any of them.

There were two producers who really stood out for me, they were Domaine Henri Gouge and Domaine Hudelot-Noellat;

Domaine Henri Gouge

Now under stewardship of Gregory Gouge, who took over in 2007 coinciding with the completion of the new state of the art cuverie, this domaine has gone from strength to strength in recent years. There has been a concerted effort to produce more elegant tannins which results in more aromatics in the wines.

His Nuits-St-Georges had some lovely red red fruit combined with some spice and a touch of smoke, it had a touch of acidity with plenty of soft and silky tannins. This over the next couple of years is going to age beautifully. I then moved onto the 1er Cru Clos des Porrets St Georges and the 1er Cru Les Pruliers, these each moved up a notch respectively as you would expect, they showed great depth of flavour and complexity with this lovely perfumed character them, they are not cheap but they were stunning and will only get better with age.

They also produce a white Nuits-St-Georges, the 1er Cru La Perriere which is produced from a mutated Pinot Noir vine that was discovered by Henri before the war, this had some lovely fruit to it with hints of vanilla and a full, rich mouthfeel. I would definitely recommend you try this if you ever get the opportunity it was stunning and will develop over the coming years into an amazing wine.

Domaine Hudelot-Noellat

This was the first time I'd had the chance to taste the wines from this Domaine, Charles Van Canneyt has consistently produced great wines vintage after vintage resulting in them being one of the most sought after domaines, which unfortunately reflects very much in the price of his wines.

He produces a Vosne-Romanee, Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Beaumonts, Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Les Murgers and a Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. When you pour these wines the first thing you notice is how pale they are, however lacking in colour they may be they certainly are not lacking in flavour, depth and complexity. These wines all have lovely red berry fruit with smoke and spice intertwined in there, a touch of acidity and plenty of beautifully silky tannins, they also have a savoury/meaty character to them which works magnificently. They truly are magnificent wines, which over the coming decade are going to age beautifully